Echo Park Parent Involvement Policy/Procedure 2015­2016 Echo Park is committed to the goal of providing quality education for every child in this district. To this end, we want to establish partnerships with parents and with the community. Everyone gains if school and home work together to promote high achievement by our children. Neither home nor school can do the job alone. Parents play an extremely important role in children’s success every step along the way. Echo Park recognizes that some students may need the extra assistance available through the Title I program to reach the state’s high academic standards. Echo Park intends to include parents in all aspects of the school’s Title I program. The goal is a school­home partnership that will help all students in the district to succeed. PART I. SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY ​
REQUIRED​
COMPONENTS A.
Echo Park will jointly develop/revise with parents the school parent involvement policy/procedures and distribute it to parents of participating children and make available the parent involvement policy/procedures to the local community. The Title I teachers will convene a meeting on May 27, 2015 with the Title I parents to review the Title I program and plan the 2015­2016 Title I Parent Involvement policy. This policy will be posted in the Title I section of the Echo Park website. B.
Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of the school’s participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of the parents to be involved; The Title I teachers will conduct a Fall Parent Informational meeting in October/November 2015 called “Bagels and Books” from 8:30­9:00. C. Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement; See Part 1 Section B. In addition, transportation will be made available to allow all parents to attend. D. Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the school plan under section 1112, school­wide under section 1114 and the process of the school review and improvement under section 1116. By May 20, 2016 the Parent Questionnaire will be sent home to parents. E.
Provide parents of participating children­ a.
Timely information: Parents are provided information regarding Title I in the introductory phone call or email made by the classroom teacher. A Title I informational letter and “What is Title I?” letter will include more information. Fall Parent Teacher Conferences, as well as the Fall Title I Information meeting in October/November 2015, will enable parents to learn about the Echo Park Title I program. b.
Description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet: At Echo Park, the Title I program will focus on Literacy. Selected students in Grades 1­5 will work with a licensed teacher in small groups of 1­4 students or the Title I teacher will go into the classroom to support literacy within the content areas. The Echo Park Title I program follows district and grade level curriculum or a literacy intervention program to assure student progress. The Echo Park curriculum is available on the district website: http://www.district196.org​
or the Echo Park website: http://www.district196.org/ep/ c. If requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practically possible. We will communicate with parents during Fall and Winter Parent/Teacher Conferences. Our Spanish and Somali liaisons will help communicate with our non­English speaking families. Parents will also be updated regarding their children’s education through notes, phone calls, and emails. A Parent/Child Family Night will be held in conjunction with the Echo Park School Carnival to provide an opportunity for families to share an enjoyable literacy experience. F.
If the school wide program plan is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency. If a parent were dissatisfied we would work to meet the parent and child’s needs. If this were unacceptable, we would pass on comments to the District Office. G. Echo Park will inform parents and parental organizations of the purpose and existence of the Parental Information and Resource Center in Minnesota (i.e., Minnesota Parent Center, Bloomington, MN). Parents will receive the following website address in order to learn more about supporting their children. ​
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http://www.pacer.org/mcp/ PART II ​
REQUIRED​
SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT As a component of the school­level parental involvement policy, each school shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school­parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement. ❖ Conduct a parent/teacher conference in elementary schools, annually (at a minimum), during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child’s achievement; Title I teachers will attend Parent­Teacher Conferences during the fall and winter when possible. The Parent Compacts will be shared with the parents of first and second round Title I students at this time, if they have not previously been completed. ❖ Provide frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress; and Title I Progress reports will be sent home at trimester and year end report card times. Parents will also receive information through notes, email, and phone calls. ❖ Provide parents with reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class and observation of classroom activities. Parents have opportunities to volunteer through their classroom teacher connections. They can also contact the PTO volunteer coordinator for other volunteer opportunities. BUILDING CAPACITY ​
REQUIREMENTS​
FOR INVOLVEMENT To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted under this part – A.
Shall provide assistance to the parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State’s academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children; Our school/school district will assist parents in understanding the following: State academic content standards State student academic standards State/local academic assessments i.e. MCA’s, MAP’s, etc. Parents are notified of the purpose of student assessment through letter, websites, and at teacher conferences. Results of student assessment scores are sent home with letters of explanation. Teachers also offer further guidance in the understanding of the assessments. Our school/school district will offer ways for parents to work with the school staff to improve the achievement of their children. School District 196’s curriculum is aligned with the Minnesota Academic Standards for English and Language Arts. Daily classroom and homework are aligned with these state standards. B.
Shall provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement. Title I teachers are available to train parents in supporting good reading strategies. Title I and Resource Room books go home daily/weekly to read with and to parents. Summer Resource Room checkout and District videos are available for our parents. C.
Shall educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school; Echo Park’s Professional Learning Communities and Roll Through discussions about students of concern enable us to support our Title I students and their families. D.
Shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, public preschool and other programs and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children; Our Somali and Spanish liaisons help parents more fully in supporting their children’s education. Our social worker offers programs to support Impulse Control, Friendship, Family Change and Anger Management. E.
Shall ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand. Title I Compacts are available in six languages. We have a Somali liaison at Echo Park 5 days each week. A Spanish liaison is in the building regularly each week. We have staff members who can translate for Spanish families during the school day. District interpreters are available for meetings, conferences, and phone calls. F. Shall provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this as parents may request. At Echo Park, parents are able to access translators for conferences as needed. For Title I meetings, parents will be made aware that Echo Park will provide transportation as necessary. G.
May involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training; H.
May provide necessary literacy training from funds received under this part if the district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training; I. May pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school­related meetings and training sessions; J. May train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents; K. May arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in­home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation; L. May adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement; M. May establish a district parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under this section; N.
May develop appropriate roles for community­based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities; and PART III ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS In carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this part, districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with children with limited English proficiency, parents with children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents can understand. District Translators are used for conferences and teacher/parent meetings. Our Somali and Spanish liaisons serve as links to those communities. Children with Disabilities and their families have equal access and opportunity to Title I programs within District 196. PART IV ADOPTION This Echo Park Parental Involvement Policy/Procedures has been developed/revised jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in the Title I program, as evidenced by meeting minutes. The Parent Involvement Policy/Procedure was developed/revised by Echo Park on May 27, 2015 and will be in effect during the 2014­15 school year. The school will make this Parent Involvement Policy available to all parents of participating Title I children and make it available to the community on or before October 16, 2015. Katie Junko _____________________________________________ (Signature of Title I Authorized Representative) May 27, 2015 These people were involved with the development of this document: _______________________ Molly Carlton (parent) Tara Opsahl (administrative representative) Katie Junko (Title I Lead Teacher) Barb Baldwin (Intervention Teacher)